Most engines in trucks and passenger automobiles, as well as other reciprocating engines and devices as are found on generators, large air conditioning systems and other equipment, use oil as a lubricant. Typically, these engines have a reservoir wherein the oil is collected and stored. Most often, a dipstick is provided on these engines, guided into the oil reservoir by a tube, to allow users periodically to check the oil level. Because proper oil levels are critical to insure proper operation of most engines, it is desirable that the oil levels be checked frequently.
To check the oil level in a reservoir as described above, it is typically necessary for the user to remove the dipstick from the reservoir, to wipe the existing oil off the dipstick, to return the dipstick to its fully inserted position, and then to retract the dipstick for the oil reading. If the wiping operation does not take place, oil that has splashed on the dipstick in the reservoir from engine vibration or movement may result in an erroneous oil level reading.
Wiping off the dipstick typically requires that the user locate a rag or other suitable implement to use to clean the dipstick. The unavailability of a handy cleaning implement may lead some engine operators not to check the reservoir oil levels at the appropriate frequency.
The present invention is adapted to provide a ready means, mounted directly onto the engine dipstick tube, to clean the oil dipstick. The ready accessibility of the present invention is designed to encourage engine operators to check reservoir oil levels frequently.
There are other, more complex, devices designed to clean dipsticks and designed to be mounted on the dipstick tube. Examples of these devices may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,506,402 and 4,658,462. Other devices to be mounted on the dipstick tube are simpler, but provide a limited wiping surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,935.
There are dipstick wipers available that mount on the dipstick itself. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,110,909 and 3,703,038 for examples of these devices. A device that requires mounting on the dipstick may preclude proper insertion of the dipstick that was provided by the original equipment manufacturer into the oil reservoir.
Still other devices provide wipers that may be mounted almost anywhere within an engine compartment, but that are not necessarily readily available at the dipstick tube to wipe the oil off the dipstick as it is withdrawn from the reservoir. Examples of dipstick wipers that may be mounted anywhere within an engine compartment may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,419,781, 4,233,704, 4,164,054, and 3,686,702.
It is accordingly a feature of the present invention that a dipstick oil wiper is provided that is mounted on the dipstick tube on an engine, for easy use in the cleaning operation. It is a further feature of the invention that the wiper is of simple construction, being inexpensive to construct, and requiring no modifications to the dipstick or the dipstick tube. It is a further feature of the invention that a wiper is provided having an easily replaceable wiping surface.